


Second Christmas

by sophia_sol



Category: First Christmas - Stan Rogers
Genre: Christmas, Families of Choice, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-08
Updated: 2010-06-08
Packaged: 2017-10-11 16:31:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/114393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophia_sol/pseuds/sophia_sol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's better than spending the day alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Much thanks to sentientcitizen for her prompt beta!

_December 23_

"Bye, John!" called Erica, as she sauntered towards the door. "See you tomorrow, right?"

"Yep," John said, waving goodbye.

Erica grinned and waved back, and headed out of the store. Such a difference from last December, she thought. Thank god she'd managed to sweet-talk her way into this job at the store in February.

And if she was still lonely sometimes, in her little rented room? That was all right. She could just head over to the Sunnyside Nursing Home. It was stupid to call what she did there volunteering when really it was just her finding company with other folks as lonely as herself, but she didn't argue. If people wanted to see it as a good deed on her part, that was fine with her.

That's where she was headed now. She'd promised Wally she would visit him.

 

_December 24_

The store was the busiest Erica had ever seen it, full of people buying last minute gifts. It's all so silly, she thought, as she packed a light-up santa into a box and handed the customer the receipt. People purchasing and giving away all these useless things, thinking it'll buy them love when they already have it.

By the time her shift was over, and the store was closing down, she wanted to collapse and never move again. She sank gratefully into a chair with a moan, then looked up at John. "So what'll you be doing for Christmas, then? " she asked.

John sighed and took the chair next to hers, propping his legs out in front of him. "Dunno," he said. "They don't need me here. I'll just hang around my apartment, I guess."

Erica sat up straighter. "Join me," she said impulsively. She knew what it was like to spend Christmas alone. "I'm helping out at Sunnyside, and they're always happy for a few extra hands."

"Maybe," John said.

"Come by at 2," she said, "and you can help out with crafts."

The silence stretched. John stretched. Then he said, "Yeah, okay."

 

_December 25_

Erica, John, and Wally sat at a table in the common room. Wally's fingers weren't as deft as they once were, so he wasn't doing anything more challenging than holding his cup of tea and talking. John didn't say much, but his hands moved a knife steadily over a small piece of wood.

Erica had convinced Wally to tell her stories about what Christmas had been like back when he was her age. As he told her about snowball fights his brothers, Erica hoped desperately for his sake that his kids'd call this year. They hadn't last year, the unappreciative fuckers. If she'd had a dad like Wally she wouldn't take him for granted like that.

At least she could keep Wally company now, even if his own family ignored him.

Later, as they walked with Wally up to his room for dinner, John handed her the star he'd been carving all afternoon. "Here," he said. "It's for you. They didn't have the right paint or I'd have made it silver."


End file.
